Taking Care of Yourself While Advocating For Others
Advocacy work can be emotionally exhausting. It is important to take care of yourself while advocating for the well-being and safety of others. Here are some self-care tips and resources to help.
The impact of advocacy on mental health
Using your time to support others can have many mental health benefits. Advocacy work can connect you with people who care about the same issues that you do and can give you a sense of purpose. This can reduce feelings of hopelessness when the world feels like it is falling apart. But advocacy work can also ask a lot of you, which can negatively impact your well-being.
Secondary stress trauma (STS) is also known as compassion fatigue. It is emotional distress from hearing about the trauma of others. People with STS can have similar symptoms to people who experienced the trauma. Some of these symptoms include hypervigilance, unwanted thoughts/dreams about the painful event, and feelings of numbness and helplessness.
Sharing about your personal experiences can uplift and inspire others, but it can also be difficult to relive those experiences over and over again. This can leave you feeling resistant toward doing advocacy work in order to protect your own emotional well-being.
Advocates may feel pressure to always be available to those they are advocating for. This is especially true if the people they are working with are in vulnerable situations. Advocates may then end up without much time to take care of themselves or nurture their personal relationships. This can lead to burnout and high turnover rates among people doing advocacy work.
Strategies for effective self-care
Advocates provide an important service to their communities. Taking good care of yourself will allow you to continue working in a way that is sustainable for you. Here are some strategies for self-care that can support you:
Creating Boundaries: As an advocate, it is easy to end up overworking because you know it is for a good cause. You may feel guilty or selfish for setting boundaries around your work to protect your health. But these boundaries can ultimately help you stay engaged in the work in a healthy way. Some boundaries you can set to support you are:
Clearly communicate these limits with coworkers/people you are advocating for. Setting alerts on your phone for the times you will start and stop being available can help you remember to maintain this boundary with others.
Learning to say no to responsibilities that you do not have the time and energy for. If you are able to, try delegating tasks you cannot complete. This can allow others to feel a sense of purpose and involves more people in the process.
Time Management: Effective time management can help you feel calmer and better able to manage the numerous tasks you need to complete.
Prioritize the two or three most important tasks you need to get done each day. This can reduce stress and give you some momentum to complete other tasks.
Set realistic goals that you can achieve without working overtime or stressing yourself out. Remember that you are a human “being,” not a human “doing.” This can help you recognize the limitations of your time and energy.
Use tools that will help you manage your time. Some people may enjoy using an online calendar or project management app while others may prefer a written planner. Getting the things you need to do out of your head and into one place can help you stay organized and free up mental space to think more clearly and creatively.
Developing Healthy Routines: While advocacy work can take up a lot of time, it is important to create simple routines that help you maintain your health. Some examples of this are:
Practicing mindfulness meditation before you start your day
Doing some physical activity during breaks
Making time for self-reflection by journaling for 10 minutes before bed
Prepping some simple, nutritious meals when you have time off makes it easy to grab-and-go food on work days
Building a Support System: Having the love and support of people in your life can make all the difference. This is especially true when you feel like your responsibilities are piling high and your stress is climbing higher. Building this support system might look like:
Joining a support group or a network for advocates can be a validating experience. You and your peers can share experiences and helpful coping strategies. You may find some people you can partner with who can share your workload. These peers can also provide feedback that will help you grow closer to your advocacy goals.
Making time to be with loved ones can help you remember the valuable aspects of your life outside of work. You can communicate your needs and seek support from family and friends, too. Maybe they can support you with things like childcare or household chores during a busy time. Depending on the type of advocacy work you do, maybe they could also help you reach your goals.
Working with a mental health professional can help you stay grounded during advocacy work. They can support you in identifying your triggers that come up during advocacy work and how to navigate these. They can also help you determine what boundaries you may need to set.
Sustainable Advocacy Practices: To ensure advocacy work is something that can continue, it must be done in a sustainable way.
Focus on long-term impact rather than immediate results. Keeping in mind that advocacy work is an ongoing process that will likely continue for generations to come can help you slow down. This mindset reduces the sense of urgency that may drive you to move at an unsustainable speed. What is one small, doable thing you can do today that will move the collective closer to the ultimate vision of your advocacy work? Can you still do all the things you need to do to maintain your health and accomplish this goal today?
Use a collaborative approach to share the workload. It can be easy to be individualistic when advocating for others. There is so much to do and maybe you feel like you are the only one who will do it the way you want it done. But letting go of perfectionism and welcoming others into the process can make advocacy work more sustainable. What are your greatest skills? Are there people with different skills you can delegate certain tasks to?
Being an advocate for others can be fulfilling, meaningful work. It can also be challenging, time-consuming, and draining at times. But creating systems that help you maintain your self-care practices can be vital to helping you avoid burnout and continue doing the advocacy work that is closest to your heart.
Take a Mental Health Test
If you or a friend are struggling with your mental health, take an anonymous, free, and private mental health test. It only takes a few minutes, and after you are finished you will be given information about the next steps you can take based on the results.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.